Let Her Go
by BlueBubbles426
Summary: Loke knew he was vanishing. His heart hurt. But when one Celestial wizard saves him, can he learn to move on? Much unrequited love. LoLu, NaLu, hints of LoKa. Rated K for now, but may change in later chapters.
1. Forgiveness: Going Home

**A/N: So this is my first time writing Fairy Tail fan fiction, and the first time in a long while since I wrote fan fiction period. Constructive flames and criticism, plus reviews are appreciated. I also don't have a beta at the moment, so if in time, you like my work. please PM me if you are interested.**

**Since this is meant to be within canon, some of the dialogue is taken directly from the anime.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or the song Let Her Go by Passenger, which inspired this piece.**

Loke's stirred the ice in his glass, contemplating the sting of the slap on his face. He had deserved it. It was cruel of him to play off his imminent death as a pick-up line. It was low, even for him. He squeezed the glass, fighting the tears in his eyes while the nodding chef continued to work. Slowly he stood up, and began heading back to Magnolia.

"_Aries...these wounds…" Leo gazed over Aries beat up body that was quickly healing, now that she was back in the Spirit World. _

"_I'm okay Leo-sama, I'm sorry." Aries' meek voice squeaked as tears poured from her eyes. Leo grit his teeth, frustrated, when would she learn, "Karen…"_

Loke sighed, staring up at Fairy Tail's massive guild hall. A sharp pain in his head told him time was drawing near, and he slowly walked through the doors, past the loud chatter, and up to the master's office. He knocked, sighing, as he was granted entrance.

"Loke, my boy, what can I do for you?" Master was in the middle of yet another apology letter for Natsu's destruction of a nearby town.

"Master, I am leaving Fairy Tail," Loke's voice was firm and he kept it steady, and with that, he turned and quickly exited the guild, leaving a frowning parent in his wake.

"_Karen's dead." Master Bob's words echoed in Leo's head as he knelt on the floor in the ruins, eyes wide, shaking. He couldn't believe it. She had been cruel, but she wasn't a bad person, he was sure that she would have changed. Changed to the beautiful person he knew she could be. She was a strong wizard, and was adored by others. She could be compassionate if she would realize that Spirits were free and had hearts. He could have loved her. In spite of her cruelty, he had fallen for his owner. It wasn't the first time, but now, now it would be the last. He would never have another owner, and he would perish here in the human world._

Loke stared up at the stars in the sky, standing in front of Karen's grave. 'It won't be long now,' he thought, wincing as the pain shot through his body more frequently. He had been with so many women these past three years, loving them, but not, feeling empty, unable to replace the hole his sin had left. Unable to fill the hole left from loving Karen.

Light began to creep over the sky as the day broke. He heard a rustling and when he heard his name, he looked around, a blonde he knew came rushing out of the trees. "Lucy!"

His heart beat quickly as he listened to her. He needed to repent, but his heart hurt, as he watched the Celestial Spirit wizard use incredible amounts of magic power, and he feared she would go the same way Karen did. "Don't make my crime worse than it already is!"

"What crime?!" Lucy yelled, "If that's the rule of the Spirit World, then I'll change it!" Loke couldn't believe his ears when suddenly the Spirit King appeared before them.

As Lucy stood up to the Spirit King, even as she summoned all his friends from the Spirit World, he still knew it was impossible to return. His sin was too great. He thought of Aries, and how he hoped she was safe. When suddenly the Spirit King spoke.

"Leo, I give thee warrant to return to the Spirit World. You are pardoned." He couldn't believe it. His mind was reeling with everything that was happening. He thought of Karen and he began to cry, his sin was too great to be saved.

"If you still wish to repent for your sins, I order you to aid your friend and live on. I believe her to be a friend of such worth. You should protect her with your life" the Spirit King spoke before disappearing. As he vanished, he saw Karen standing there, and he felt the pain in his heart finally ease as she smiled and vanished.

"Thank you, Lucy," were the last words he said before finally returning home.


	2. Haunted

**A/N: I'm so sorry it took so long to get this up. I got distracted writing other fics. This may turn into an AU fic, but I am not sure. Hope you enjoy. Rating change for safety.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.**

A few days later, Loke returned to the guild. He missed Lucy and everyone. He was still not one-hundred percent, but he was feeling better. He smiled as everyone swarmed around him. He had reason to live. He had friends here that were dear to him.

"But are you feeling ok?" Gray asked.

"Well, I'm not 100 percent yet, but I figured I'd come say hi to everyone," he answered, "and I wanted to see Lucy again as soon as possible." He nodded towards Lucy, who blushed.

"He lllllikes you," Happy teased.

Loke picked Lucy up and began heading out of the guild. There was the obvious discussion of their contract, but it was more than that. Lucy had saved him and given him the confidence to move on. Before the could leave, however, Lucy got caught up in an argument with Natsu over the proper use of spirits. Loke tried to regain her attention, but failed to do so until he was beginning to feel lightheaded. He thanked her, telling her they would always be there for each other and departed back to the Spirit World.

Now back home, Leo the Lion stretched out on his oversized bed. He had slept for several hours before returning to Fairy Tail, but the last three years still weighed on him. It was exhausting to be in the human world, and it took a great deal of strength. Leo stared up at the canopy in his bedroom, watching the twinkling fabric. He thought about his new owner and friend. Lucy was beautiful inside and out. He just wished there was some way to actually show her without her brushing him off. She was so shy about love, and it was adorable.

A knock came at the door. Leo sat up and the door opened. Virgo appeared in her maid outfit, her short pink hair framing her face. Leo watched her come over and begin cleaning his nightstand, dusting and organizing. It puzzled him before he realized she must have been the one keeping up his home while he was on hiatus in the human world.

"You don't have to keep doing that, you know," Leo commented, and she stopped, looking up at him.

"Do you wish to punish me, Leo the Lion?" Virgo inquired.

"No, Virgo," he sighed, "thank you." He rubbed his temples, "I am going to sleep for a while." She nodded and departed.

Sleep eluded the Lion, and he tossed and turned, visions haunting him. First they were visions of Karen in varying ways of torture, but the images began to change and a blonde mage began to fill his thoughts. She called for him, begging for him to save her. Leo stretched, trying to grab her hand, but it was always just out of his reach. She screamed and suddenly she was covered in blood. Looking down, he saw his own hands covered in blood. He yelled in both shock and fear.

Leo bolted upright, covered in sweat. His hands were shaking, but not covered in blood. He touched his face and felt tears on his cheek. What had just happened? A vision or just a nightmare? He stumbled out of bed to the bathroom. His face was pale in the mirror and Leo ran his hands through his hair before splashing water on his face. He needed to get ahold of himself. He wouldn't let Lucy die. He couldn't. But what if-

Leo shook his head, scolding himself. "Don't!" He shouted aloud. The sound echoed off the tile walls and he marched back to the bedroom. It was almost dawn, so he decided to get dressed.

He grabbed a suit from the closet and marveled at how strange it will be to be back in Spirit World clothes. He dressed, feeling the comfort of old threads, relieved that any oddness was overtaken by the comforts of home.

His stomach growled and he realized he hadn't eaten in two days. He wandered downstairs, waiting to see what food Virgo had left him.

He was delighted to see Virgo had been here just moments before, as the eggs and bacon were still hot. Leo sat down and began to eat with speed. Human world food paled in comparison to the Spirit World and Leo savoured each bite. He finished and cleaned his plate, not wanting to leave a mess for Virgo to clean later.

Leo strode around the pathways of the Spirit World, lost in thought. The nightmare was still haunting him, but he didn't know what to do. There was no one he could really talk to about it and he knew it was just another way of repenting for his sin.

Or so he hoped.


End file.
